


Take Me With You

by louiscontroll



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: A lot more I'm forgetting, Alternate Universe - Supernatural Elements, Death, Ghosts, Immortality, M/M, Shapeshifters - Freeform, Supernatural - Freeform, Vampires, Werewolves
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-06-24
Updated: 2014-07-28
Packaged: 2018-02-06 02:20:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 5
Words: 12,470
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1840768
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/louiscontroll/pseuds/louiscontroll
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Louis is immortal. Harry isn't. Harry thinks he's special to Louis until he sees just how many people Louis has outlived. Then he discovers just how much he's been missing. Naturally, feelings ensue. </p><p>Or, the one where Louis is immortal, Liam is a vampire, Zayn is a werewolf, and Harry and Niall are confused humans trying to figure this whole thing out.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. 1 - Birthdays, Selfies, And Vampires

**Summary: Louis is immortal. Harry isn't. Harry thinks he's special until he realizes all the people that Louis has already outlived. Then Harry discovers there's a whole other side to things that he never even imagined possible. Feelings ensue.**

**Based loosely off this post: http://pawtism.tumblr.com/post/80429890080/helioscentrifuge-breastforce-imagine**

**General warnings include: Language, violence, death & death mentions, abuse, and general angst themes.**

On December 24th, a day before Christmas, Louis Tomlinson turned three hundred years old. 

He wasn't exactly looking forwards to this anniversary. It was the turn of another century, and that always meant something new. And he still looked twenty. He wasn't sure exactly when he stopped aging, but some days he looked twenty, and some days he looked more like sixteen. But maybe that was just him. That could be, too. 

Anyways, in the evening of his three hundredth birthday, Louis put on his jacket, walked out of his cluttered apartment and wondered if he should change his name again. Right now, he was using his birth name, but he'd switched through out the years, creating new aliases as he travelled around the world and switched from job to job. In the twenty first century, switching your identity was hard, but Louis had done it once already. Maybe it was time for a switch. 

He stopped for a coffee on his way to his destination - Starbucks is a wonderous invention - and listened to the carolers sing a few songs before turning around, and because he actually listened to "Silent Night" sung in a much higher pitch than it should've been, he saw it happen. 

A young boy - everyone looked young - with wild, curly brown hair and a terrified look in his green eyes ran across the icy road in front of the Starbucks, looking one way and not looking the other, when a large truck came speeding down the road and didn't look like it was going to stop. One second went by before Louis let out a breath, put down his coffee, and ran out onto the road, pushing the boy away from the truck's path and getting hit instead. 

Louis had been hit by a car before, but never totally head on, and it had never hurt like the way it hurt then. His vision blacked out, but he felt himself being thrust backwards and his head smashed onto the concrete, sending his thoughts into a daze. He was sure plenty of his bones were broken, but the more promenent ones began healing, as he knew they would. That was the way it worked - the fatal injuries healed, and the rest just had to heal normal time. 

"Oh my god." Slowly, Louis came back to his senses and blinked his eyes open to see the boy - was he that young? - leaning over him, that terrified look still in his eyes. "Shit," the boy said, shaking slightly. "Shit, are you alive?"

Other people on the street were running towards them, and the truck had stopped, with the driver getting out. Louis gave out another groan before moving to sit up, but a wave of dizziness forced him back down. "Fuck," the boy kept saying. Someone in the back was dialing an ambulance. That was just going to make this more complicated. 

"I'm good," Louis whispered, closing his eyes to stop any light making his head ache. "Promise."

"You saved my life." Of course the boy was going to say that. Everyone says that. Except, when Louis cracked his eyes open again, he still looked scared. 

Just as Louis was going to say something, he heard sirens in the distance, and he let himself close his eyes. 

**********

When he woke up, he was in his least favourite place - the hospital - and some nurse came in, telling him that he was lucky and that honestly, he should've died, and "well, Mr. Tomlinson, you sure have a lengthy record of coming here!" And that he did. Being immortal was no fun unless you got into some danger that you never could've otherwise, right?

They discharged him two days later, after making sure that he was perfectly fine - "this really is a miracle" - and after plenty of grumbling done by Louis about how pointless this all was. He hadn't even known the boy that he saved, and he never would. 

He was just making sure that he had everything with him, and was getting ready to walk out, when someone behind him said, "Umm, hi?"

He turned (nobody visited Louis, 'cause nobody knew he was here) and took a step back when he saw the boy he had saved from dying standing in front of him. "Hi," Louis said, blinking twice. "Didn't expect you to come." The boy didn't look so scared now, but still, it was strange to see him. 

"My name's Harry," the boy said, stepping into the room awkwardly. "Sorry I didn't come earlier? I just didn't know if I should? Seeing as you could've died?"

"I didn't," Louis said, shrugging. "It's fine. I'm Louis. Nice to meet you." 

The two awkardly shook hands. Louis was glad for an oppurtunity to look into Harry's eyes, proper this time. "Tell me," Louis finally said, "Why were you running?"

Harry paused, almost said something, and then paused again. "I don't know," he finally came up with. "I just...I just like to run?" Louis noticed that Harry liked to do that - end almost every sentence in a question, as if he didn't know if it was okay for him to speak. 

Louis pursed his lips. There was so much more to that story. "Okay," he sighed. Then it was his turn to hesitate, because there was a question that he really, really, really needed to ask but he wasn't sure how and he wasn't sure if he could. "Can we...can we take a photo?"

Harry's eyebrows raised. "You mean...like a selfie?"

Louis laughed, but he was already taking out his camera from his bag that had been recovered for him - it hadn't broken in the accident. Luckily, Louis' spine had prevented that - and moved next to Harry. It was an antique camera, one that printed out the photos as soon as you took them, but Louis held it backwards and guessed the spotting before clicking the button, and the photo popped out. He'd had that camera for decades, now, he was sure. 

"Thanks," Louis said, putting the photo carefully in his coat pocket. "That means a lot to me."

"You're, um, welcome," Harry stammered, looking quite bewildered, like he wasn't sure what just happened. "Anyways, I really have to go...thanks. For saving my life. Thank you."

Louis just smiled as Harry nodded a couple times, and then backed out of the room and quickly walked down the hallway. Louis watched him go before leaving himself. There were so many stories that Harry had, so many problems, so many words, so many memories. 

And Louis would outlive them all. 

The air was cold outside, but Louis didn't care. People were still rushing on the streets, going from shop to shop in Boxing Day rush. He'd spent his three hundredth Christmas in a hospital. He had never done that before. 

As quickly as he could - without stopping for coffee this time - he walked back to his apartment, took off his jacket, slid the photo out neatly and entered the bedroom, closing the door and turning on the dim light. He paused for two seconds before grabbing a roll of tape and then sliding his bookshelf out of the way, revealing another door behind it. His fingers hovered over the doorknob, and he almost didn't enter the room, but he knew he couldn't go back. 

The light inside the room was far brighter than the bedroom, the contrast making the room seem all the more strange. The door shut softly behind him, and he let out a long breath before he actually let himself gaze around the room. 

There were at least forty pictures by now, maybe even fifty. He wasn't sure, and he wasn't counting. But he was in each one of them, and a different person was with him every time. Louis could tell you a lot of things about each photo, all different, all interesting. But they only shared three things in common; they were human, and Louis loved them, and they were mortal.

Carefully, Louis put the tape on Harry's photo and put it up on the wall, in the most recent spot, next to his old girlfriend, and then he pulled a thick black marker out of his pocket. He took that marker everywhere, along with his camera, just in case. He didn't know Harry's last name, or how old he was, but underneath the photo he wrote, "Harry. Met - 2013. Said goodbye - 2013." It was identical to the caption on everyone else's photo. Louis looked different in every one, but it was in chronological order, with all the dates intact. Some days he'd search up an old name, just to see what had happened to them. Or he'd look to see how he himself would change. Or he'd just sit, staring at the faces, and try to take his own life and join the early ones. 

He chose the last choice that day. 

It didn't work. 

**********

"Lou! You didn't show up for your own birthday party!"

Louis gave a short laugh as he walked into Zayn's apartment. Zayn and Liam, Louis' closest friends, were sprawled out on the same couch, facing opposite directions, eating popcorn and watching some bad action movie. "I didn't know I had one," Louis shrugged, stealing some of Liam's popcorn and sandwiching himself between the two boys. "Is no one else here?"

"Nah," Zayn said, shaking his head, before putting his feet on Louis' legs. "Eleanor's parents are in town, Danielle hasn't shown up for weeks, and Perrie's hungry." Louis shuddered a bit at the last one. No elaboration had to be made. 

"Speaking of being hungry," Liam said, "How many days until the full moon, Zayn?"

"It's tomorrow, Li," he scoffed. "Seriously? It's the new year! Shouldn't you be feeling the buzz?"

"I do," Louis said. "I have been ever since I got hit by a car and was in the hospital, where you fuckers never showed up."

"Sorry!" Liam said, shrugging, and plopping his head on Louis' knees and next to Zayn's feet. "I didn't know you were in the hospital. Besides, I was feeding."

"You didn't killl them, right?"

"Zayn, who do you think I am? No, they don't remember anything. What's your excuse?"

"Strengthening my cage so I don't get out again."

Louis nodded at both of them. "Good excuses." Sometimes, Louis didn't mind having a werewolf and a vampire as best friends. They were both immortal, at least, being undead and whatnot. "Say, Zayn? When you got out of your cage last time? You didn't bite anyone, right? I never asked."

Zayn just shrugged. "I don't think so. If I did, they haven't turned yet, so. I don't know."

Louis and Liam just looked at each other. It wasn't Zayn's fault - but it was like how Louis and Zayn felt when Liam accidentally turned or killed someone, or how Zayn and Liam felt when Louis tried to commit suicide again. Being a supernatural being wasn't all it's cracked up to be. 

"Oh, so, hey! Did I tell you guys about my new project?" Zayn and Louis both groaned at Liam's words. 

"No," Louis sighed. "You didn't." Liam was always coming up with new "scientific experiments." 

"Listen," Liam said, shaking his head and sitting up, eyes alert, "I've found a way to reverse it. A way to reverse everything."

"Reverse what?" Zayn sat up too. Liam never got this excited over something so quickly. 

"Being supernatural."

**********

"Ni, open up."

Harry knocked three times and then one time on his best friend's door, quickly glancing behind him, but no one was there. This was the first time in a long time nobody had followed him to Niall's house. 

The door opened slowly and Harry came face to face with Niall's wide blue eyes. "Is it clear?" Harry gave a rough nod before the door opened a crack more and Harry slipped inside, shutting the door without a sound. 

Niall turned to him, his bright eyes stern and his back to the door. "Where the hell have you been?" he hissed. Harry had never seen Niall so angry so quickly, and that scared him. 

"I'm sorry," Harry said quickly, "I...well, I..." He didn't want to play the almost dying card. It wasn't like it was the first time, for both of them. 

"Do you realize that they came here and shot at the house? Twice?"

Harry's face dropped. "Twice? Shit, Ni, are you okay?" He scanned his friend, and then saw for the first time the red mark on his neck, that looked almost like a bite. "What the hell is that? It looks deep."

Niall just raised his eyebrows. "I'm fine. I don't know where that came from - a few nights back? I was walking, and...I don't really remember. I think it was an animal." Shaking his head, Niall continued, "That's not the point! Where were you?"

Harry bit his lip but he didn't ask further. "I - look, I was being chased, and I ran onto the road, and then I almost got hit by this truck. But this person - Louis - pushed me out of the way and I think he almost died, so, I had to go to the hospital and make sure he was okay, and that the coast was clear."

Niall didn't say anything as he thought over Harry's story, but then he just nodded. "Well, you're alive," he finally said, his Irish accent starting to sound less harsh. "Did you manage to get any money?"

"No," Harry sighed. "Look, Ni, maybe I should just do what they want..."

"No way," Niall said immediately. "Do you remember? Jem, that was her name, do you remember Jem?"

Harry let out a long breath because yeah, he remembered Jem. He remembered her all too well. 

"Do you remember how she went and 'did what they wanted?' She never came back, Haz. She did what they wanted and then they never brought her back."

"Okay," Harry agreed quietly. "Fine, I won't go to them. But we're going to have to get out of this. We can't - we can't do this forever."

"I know," Niall said. "Believe me, I know."


	2. Bread Crusts

*Note = In my defense, I'm no rocket scientist. So. Sorry for the science in this chapter, I tried to make it sound legit haha :)

"Li, you can't change being supernatural," Louis said, laughing a little. "Honestly."

"Lou's right," Zayn agreed, not looking up. "This is even worse than the time you wanted to build an automatic 'cut the crust off my bread.'

Liam scoffed. "That was a fine idea. I hate crusts," he said quietly, but then picked up volume and said, "No, listen. Come with me. I'll show you."

"Fine," Louis said. He only agreed so he could put an end to this nonsense but - he had to admit, if he could choose not to be immortal, he would. 

Zayn looked at Louis incredulously. "But - Lou! The movie's about to start!" The movie they had just been watching was ending and another one (a sequel?) was about to come on. 

"I'm cutting you off of television," Louis laughed, grabbing the remote and turning the small box off. "C'mon. Some fresh air will do you good, Zayn."

"Besides, my place is just down the street," Liam chipped in helpfully. 

"Yeah, what's with that?" Louis grumbled, making sure his jacket was still on (Zayn had stolen it before) and standing up. "Can you guys not live without each other or something?" Zayn lived on the first floor, thankfully, which meant no elevator ride. Louis hated elevators.

Zayn lazily slung an arm around Liam as they moved to the door and Louis opened it, letting sunlight stream into the room. "That's right, Lou," Zayn said dryly. "Can't live without each other. Oh wait. We're immortal. That solves that problem, then." As soon as Zayn finished speaking, he pushed Liam down the front steps of the apartment complex.

"Z!" Liam complained as he regained his balance. He didn't fall (this time) so Louis had to hand it to him, but still, he looked rather indignant. "I don't go pushing you down stairs."

"And there, my friend, lies the problem." Zayn shook his head, trying to hold in laughter, as the three walked down the street and to Liam's apartment. Liam lived on the third floor, which meant Louis had to suffer through an elevator ride - he always hated the feeling of being closed in, in a tiny box that could plummet down and kill him. Maybe it was just him. 

Liam's apartment was a mess. Louis supposed that this "new project" involved a whole bunch of wires, because his television and radio cables had all been ripped out. His couch was sagging, his shelves were dusty, and it smelled kinda strange, but Louis let it go. Liam's place was pretty much always like that, anyway. 

"So, show us this thing," Zayn sighed, going over to Liam's secret door behind his bookshelf. Louis always found it weird that all three of them put secret doors behind bookshelves, but, maybe that was a thing that supernaturals just did. 

"You're gonna love it," Liam said, slipping into the room behind Zayn. Louis sighed, considered leaving - he didn't really want to see this - but then he followed the two through the doorway, if only to talk some sense into Liam. 

But he was not prepared for what he saw. 

The rest of Liam's old inventions were gone - though Louis did see the corner of his "take-the-bread-crust-off-o'matic" sticking out - and where they used to be was a huge metal cylinder, cables connecting every piece of it, and a huge generator that must've cost a fortune behind it. The cylinder was smooth on the outside, though Louis could see that there was a door, and it looked just big enough to fit a human being. In other words, it reminded Louis eerily of a human coffin standing up, just beckoning him in. 

"What the fuck, Li?" Zayn whispered. "So, what? You want people - supernaturals - to get in that thing?"

Liam shrugged, but he was moving around the device, looking like a proud mother. "I guess so," he said. "See, it's really complicated-," Louis had to scoff at his lack of their intelligence, "-but basically, there's a surge of energy that goes through and into the inside, and then releases chemicals into the supernatural person."

"So you want someone to stand inside that creepy thing, and then inject themselves with chemicals?" Zayn asked skeptically. "Nobody's going to go for that."

"I took DNA samples," Liam insisted. "And I researched and - I'm sure of it, what makes someone supernatural is a change in the DNA. Traditional DNA has two types of chemical bonds, right? A base to T base, C to G. Supernatural people have only one kind of chemical bond, a different one for different types. So the machine scans your DNA, and then gives you the chemicals you're missing."

"Nobody's still going to go for that," Louis said, shaking his head. "I would never willingly let someone pump chemicals into me."

"Well...what if I told you it was going to be airborne soon?" 

Louis and Zayn both whipped their heads to Liam. "Seriously? What, you're going to release the chemicals as a gas? And they'll be inhaled?"

Liam nodded sheepishly. "It...It actually could work. Of course, I've never tested it, but..."

"Z," Louis said, "Check the book. Now. You have it, don't you?"

"I always do," Zayn replied, pulling out a small leather-bound book from his jacket pocket. That book had been passed down through Zayn's family for ages, since the werewolf curse was something that was genetic and happened at the age of eighteen if the person had it. Zayn, unfortunately, had been the only one of his generation to get it. However, that did mean he got the book - and the book had all the information that Zayn's entire family had ever found out about supernaturals. It was like a tell-all thing. 

(Louis never brought up how it never said anything about people who were just immortal and nothing else. Some supernaturals were immortal. But Louis had no other abilities, and it annoyed him to no end.)

"The book's not going to say anything," Liam scoffed quietly, but Zayn was too busy flicking past pages filled with different types of supernaturals. 

"It does, Li," Zayn said after what felt like ages. "It says that being supernatural is part of our life force. We can't take it back. There's notes in here, look - someone's tried before. And they failed. They killed people, Li."

Liam snatched the book out of Zayn's hands and scanned the pages. Louis expected him to just say something like 'oh well, back to the bread crusts' but nothing. Instead, all he did was mutter, "oh, yeah, I could put silver in there, that would work." He then handed the book back to Zayn and didn't comment on it as he walked out of the room. 

Louis and Zayn exchanged a look before they left the room - Louis really was tired of seeing that machine - and slid the bookshelf back in place to cover the spot, before Zayn said, "I'm sorry, Li, but it - it can't happen."

"Well, maybe I'm tired of this," Liam said, his back to them. "Maybe I'm tired of turning into a blood-sucking monster every full moon. And the new year! The new year is the worst. I can't control myself on the new year, you know that?"

"Neither can I," Zayn said sadly. Louis remained silent. It was his job to lock them up on the new year because - well, nothing drastic happened to him. 

"I'm tired of having to feed on people to live!" Liam turned back to them, and Louis drew in a breath when he saw the tears in his friend's eyes. "I went feeding just recently, and you know, the person I fed on? I could change them! I could change them and not know it! It's happened before, you know. And most of them don't live through the transition. I'm a murderer."

"We all are," Zayn said immediately, going to Liam's side. "I've killed people. I know I have."

"So have I," Louis agreed. He'd never forgotten. "But we're still here, Li. We're still here."

"I want to be normal."

Zayn broke out a small smile. "I hate to tell you this, Li. But this is normal, for us."

"Listen," Louis said. "The full moon's tomorrow. Don't work on your machine, okay? Don't try to fix this. There's nothing to fix. This is you. And you're fine the way you are."

Liam didn't say anything, but Louis naively took his silence as a yes. And maybe he shouldn't have.

**********

"I'm sure we can work something out," Harry said, backing up until he hit the wall. "Just - please. Something."

The girl was coming closer to him, her gun out, pointing at Harry's forehead. He'd had a gun to him before but - it was dark, and nobody was there, and he was afraid. He was very, very afraid, because he knew who this was. Jesy Nelson, a member of Deathrow (a notorious gang that yes, Harry had pissed off) stood before him, and she was pissed. 

"I don't think we can," she said, stepping closer. Harry had nowhere to run. He knew he shouldn't have walked down the ally - he'd just been trying to get to Niall's faster. He'd gotten a text message from Niall, saying that Harry needed to come back right away, but now Harry would never know. He was certain he was going to die here.

And this time, Louis wasn't going to save him. 

"Styles, you owe me ten thousand," she said, stepping even closer. "And you know very well what my boss wants to do with you."

"Yes," Harry said, nodding slightly, his eyes trained on the gun, "I promise you'll get the money."

"You keep saying that, but we're not seeing results," she replied. Her voice was so calm for someone so threatening. "You said you'd pay your father's debt. Why haven't you?"

Harry let out a short breath, trying not to panic. It was true - about seven months ago, his father had really pissed off Deathrow, through gambling and borrowing and god knows what, but they'd never been paid back. So Harry had been naive and said that he'd pay the debt back if they left his father alone. Niall was in the same predicament, but with his brother. "I will," he said. "I will."

"Do we have to kill someone else you care about?"

"No!" he said quickly. "No, please! No." Harry knew she was talking about Jem. Jem had been in a similar situation, but she gave up hiding and went to them and - well, now Harry had to assume she was dead. 

"Look," Jesy said, clicking the safety off the gun and causing Harry to gulp, "I'm giving you seven days before we kill your blond friend. After seven more days? We'll kill you."

"Okay," Harry said immediately. Seven days was enough...right?

Jesy took a breath, and then lowered the gun slightly. "Seven days," she said, and then suddenly the gun was raised and she slammed it into Harry's head, and everything went dark. 


	3. Complications

***Note = Hey, so I'm really sorry to do this, but I'm leaving for the USA in a few days, and thus I will be out of wifi until the 20th at the earliest - I will try my hardest to get another chapter up before then, but, I'm so sorry for leaving it this way! Don't kill me! But thank you for all the lovely comments and likes xxx (Also, I'm so sorry for everything I've been doing to Harry. I promise it'll get better for him eventually :) )**

"Three minutes," Louis said, breaking the silence. The three were back at Zayn's apartment, because his room behind the bookshelf had the cage that he locked himself in. The 'buzz' of the new year, so to speak, was filling the air and Louis couldn't remember the last time he'd felt this wired. It was like he'd had twenty cups of coffee in succession - it seemed like every year it got worse.

"Three minutes 'till I find out if I turned anybody," Liam grumbled. "Oh, wait. Two." Apparently, once Liam turned somebody, he could only tell when he was fully changed, and he never changed willingly. The same was for Zayn. And once they'd changed somebody, they could control that person until they died. 

(Believe it or not, but the only way to kill a supernatural is to stab the heart with pure silver, and someone else has to do it. Louis had tried this. It had not worked for him.)

"You're careful," Zayn said, "And I'm in a cage. We'll be fine. Lou, you have the keys?"

"Yep," Louis said as he paced around the room. He hadn't been able to sit still for about an hour. How were the other two still just sitting? "Always do."

"Well, I'm going in mine," Liam announced, getting up. His jaw shook slightly and Louis knew he was fighting the urge to show his fangs - which honestly were quite wicked. 

"Same," Zayn sighed, his eyebrows creased. Together, the two moved over into the room and each stood in a cage. Zayn had set them up so the bars were just far enough apart so that they wouldn't attack each other.

"Okay," Louis said, and then he moved his hand to his pocket where the keys were, but as he did so a deafening pain broke out across his chest, stemming from his heart and spreading down to his abdomen. Letting out a sharp cry, he sunk to his knees as his vision grew hazy and unfocused and he couldn't think straight. 

"Lou!" Zayn called, and vaguely Louis saw him, huddled in the corner of his cage, his voice strained. It had to be midnight by now. Both of his friends were incapacitated and he had the keys, he had the fucking keys...unfortunately, now was the time that Louis noted they always cut this thing kinda close and they should probably stop doing that because now something was wrong, something was very wrong...

But he couldn't do anything. The pain blinded him and his head fell to the floor, and he lay there, curled up into himself. Before he lost consciousness, he realized the he was lying almost right in front of a werewolf and a vampire, who were not his friends anymore.

**********

The first thing Harry heard when he woke up was a howl. 

Not like a human howl that he'd heard during high school parties - and the ones that were happening tonight because it was 2014, wasn't it? - but an animal cry, harsh and sharp, spreading through the night. Harry had no idea how much time had passed, but he remembered Jesy had been there and now she wasn't, and he was damn lucky that she hadn't killed him.

But - Niall. 

Niall had sent him a text for help and now? Who knew where he was? Groggily, Harry stumbled to his feet, trying to ignore the chills going through spine as a second howl rang through the air. He didn't know there were wolves in these parts, but you learn something new everyday, so he ignored them. It was dark, too - and judging by the fireworks going off in the distance, it was around midnight.

Just as he exited the alley, bent on making it to Niall's in five minutes or less, he bumped into someone much taller than he was. It was a girl, he thought, with long bright hair and eyes that seemed to be glowing blue, but she was probably wearing contacts or something. Uttering a quick apology, Harry moved aside to pass her, but she grabbed his shoulders and he wasn't sure why, but he didn't try to fight her. 

"You look young," she said softly, her voice smooth. Her hands gripped Harry tighter, and honestly, he really should be trying to get away, shouldn't he? There were more important things to do...but for some reason, he didn't care. "Too young," she continued, "I'll make this quick."

Her eyes flashed at him and he couldn't look away as she leaned into him. Were those fangs she had instead of teeth? It didn't scare him, though, as he felt himself relaxing in her grip and rolling his head to the side. Slowly, carefully and very deliberately, her teeth sunk into his neck, but it didn't hurt. Her eyes kept glowing brighter and Harry's thoughts dulled. It felt calming, almost, as they stayed like that, and he felt himself falling slack into her grip before - 

Something barrelled into them and her fangs were ripped right out of his neck and he let out a cry as he fell to the ground, his hand flying to his neck and his senses returned. The terror set in as he realized what had just happened and as he saw her, on the ground as well, in front of him, her eyes far brighter than they had been moments before. Shakily, his hand left his neck, and even though he couldn't see the red, he knew there was blood on his fingers. Standing above them was someone else that Harry didn't recognize, but fuck, Harry was sure those were fangs he had as well. What the fuck?

"A werewolf's close," the man who had stopped the girl from doing...whatever she was doing hissed, his voice low. "No time for petty feeding." Feeding? Harry felt stunned, unable to move even though adrenaline and terror was coursing through his veins. 

"Liam!" the girl complained. So what, they had names now? "I was enjoying that one."

Harry had definitely heard enough. Control over his limbs returned and he almost screamed before he got up and ran as fast as possible in the other direction. Niall's house. He definitely had to get to Niall's house. 

As he blended through crowds of drunk people, police cars and parties, he wondered if he was crazy, but the teeth marks on his neck definitely told him otherwise.

**********

The door to Niall's house was unlocked, like always, but as soon as Harry entered he knew something was very wrong. 

Niall always greeted him right away, but this time the house was silent and dark, just like outside. "Niall?" he called. There was no response. "Niall!"

Harry was still shaking from whatever had happened - he was sure he had imagined it, or maybe he had dreamt it or something? - but he walked through the tiny house that Niall's family owned and tried not to worry as he passed piles of overturned furniture and he found his terror increasing even farther when he passed the couch that was totally ripped up. "Niall?" he tried again. "I really need you right now?"

There was no sound except for Harry's ragged breathing which he found was quickly becoming too fast for him to handle. Had Deathrow come and gotten him? But Jesy had promised him seven days, and as terrible as they were, they often stuck to their word - were they holding him hostage? 

Harry was honestly about to leave - if Deathrow had been here, he wasn't safe, and what if that girl came back, and fuck this whole thing was so screwed up, and where was someone like Louis when he actually needed help - when something hit him from the side again and he found himself falling to the floor, again. 

He rolled onto his back to find someone literally on top of him, their face inches from Harry's, their hands on either side of him so he was trapped. Harry's breathing shallowed and he had to fight tears that came to his eyes as he saw blond hair shining in the darkness and eyes that were red, shining in the darkness, and another damn pair of fangs and he knew. He just knew. 

"Niall," he whispered. "Holy shit." The words 'holy shit' did not, and never would, describe exactly what Harry was feeling at that point. On the one hand, Niall wasn't ripping his throat out with his fangs. On the other hand, Niall had fangs and could rip Harry's throat out, a throat that had already been bitten by someone that he didn't even know. 

Whatever was happening, whoever those people were, Niall was now one of them. At least the whole 'seven days' thing was kinda pointless. 

All of this passed through Harry's head in a split second as the both of them stayed there, breathing shallowly. Sweat beaded on Harry's forehead and he knew he had to get away, but it was Niall. 

Then Niall opened his mouth wider, exposing his full set of fangs, and Harry knew it definitely was not Niall. 

Muttering the worst apology, Harry roughly pushed Niall off him, and then rolled to the side, quickly getting on all fours. Niall didn't seem coordinated in the slightest, and as the blond boy tried to recover his balance, Harry got up and ran to the kitchen, screaming curses the whole way. 

Instead of going for the knives, which anyone else would do, in his disgruntled state Harry just wanted something heavy, so he threw open the cupboard doors and pushed things aside, looking for the best thing he could use. His pulse sped up as he heard Niall's footsteps finally approaching him, slowly and confidently. Harry had nowhere to run, and Niall had fangs and - what? Was going to suck his blood?

Niall bared his fangs again and Harry's hands closed around his last hope. As Niall charged, Harry let out an inhuman yell and swung a frying pan right at Niall's head, causing the smaller boy's new red eyes to roll back into his head and he collapsed instantly. 

Harry then dropped the frying pan on his foot, but he was so tired and energized at the same time he didn't even feel it.

It could've been hours before Harry actually took his eyes of Niall - who hopefully wasn't dead - and somehow moved his feet to where he knew Niall had some thin rope and he gingerly tied Niall to the pillar in the middle of the living room, praying that this was a dream, and everything was fine, and Harry hadn't been attacked three times over in less than a day. 

He slumped against the counter opposite his unconscious friend and waited for the sun to rise, because he had no idea what else he was going to do. 

**********

He hadn't even been aware that his eyes had closed, but Harry jolted upright when the front door was broken through. Heavy footsteps were coming straight towards him and Harry found himself going back for the frying pan because it had worked once before, but he didn't quite make it when the person came into the living room and Harry knew that a lot of things had just gotten a lot more complicated.

"You," Harry hissed, and even though the man looked normal, with normal brown eyes and no protruding fangs, Harry knew it was the same person from the night before, the same one that had stopped the girl from doing whatever she had been doing to him. 

"Great," he said - Liam, was his name? - looking first at Harry and then Niall. "This is not good."

Harry found his hands shaking again but he picked up the frying pan and vowed not to drop it on his foot this time. "Get out," he said, as threatening as possible, but honestly he sounded more like a mouse. 

"Look," the man said, "My name's Liam. You saw me last night. You saw Perrie - the girl - last night. And now you've seen him-," he paused to gesture to Niall, "-as well, right?"

Harry didn't say anything, so Liam took it as a yes. "Right...this just got a whole lot more complicated. I think...look, your blond friend needs to come with me. Like, right now."

"He's not going anywhere with you," Harry said immediately. "You - what are you?"

Harry noticed that Liam didn't even seem interested in him, and instead, kept looking at Niall - who, somehow, was still unconscious. "It's complicated," he finally answered. "But I need you to listen to me. It's really important that I get him out of here before he wakes up, okay?"

Swallowing a lump in his throat, Harry replied, "Why? Because he's - he's like you now?"

"Yes," Liam said. "He is like me now."

"Then I'm coming with you."

"What? No! You're - human."

Despite the situation, Harry couldn't help but scoff. "So was Niall," he said, "Until - this."

Liam paused, considering the situation, and then he finally said, "Fine. Okay, whatever, you can come with me. But - it's going to be complicated."

"It's already complicated," Harry muttered, but then he slowly put down the frying pan. 

"By the way," Liam said as he was untying the knots that Harry had tied around Niall's wrists, "How's the bite?"

His hand going back to cover the spot, he said, "It doesn't hurt."

"Good," Liam grunted, picking up Niall and throwing him over his back like a fireman's carry, "Glad to hear it. I'll have a word with Perrie - not that it was her fault, but...yeah."

Harry should be terrified. Honestly, he knew that. And for a second, a moment, he wanted to run into a corner and hide and not face any of this, whatever this was. But Liam left, not looking to see whether Harry was following, and Harry knew that he had to go. 

There are still times when he wishes he didn't.

**********

Louis' eyes cracked open slowly, letting in the light. His limbs felt numb and heavy, and his vision was unfocused, and he swore hours went by before he hauled himself up onto his knees. His head raised, and he found himself looking into - the cages. They were both open, both unlocked, and both empty...because Louis still had the keys and...what had happened?

Then he looked at his hands and he realized they were glowing. 

His breath caught in his throat as he scrambled backwards a ways, as if he could get farther away from them. Then he saw his arms, and they were glowing too - a bright, clear light shining out of them, like a bubble that formed around his body perfectly. And, sure enough, the glow covered his entire body, and there was no way to escape it. 

"Fuck," Louis whispered, getting up and standing on his feet. He tried rubbing the glow off, he tried washing it off, and he even tried to rip it off, but his hands passed right through it. It was almost like it was a part of him, but he didn't know what it was, and he couldn't feel it. 

"Okay, okay," he said. He figured it had something to do with the pain that he'd felt last night - the sun had now risen, so it had to be morning - and he closed his eyes, and tried to steady his breathing before continuing. 

When he opened his eyes, it was gone. 

His eyes narrowed and he held his hands out in front of his face, but they looked normal. Had he imagined it? Was he just crazy? He wouldn't doubt it, honestly...he still had no idea what had happened. 

"Lou? What are you doing?"

Louis' head whipped to the side to see Zayn, in one piece, standing in the doorway. He was wearing a discount t-shirt and shorts that obviously didn't fit (and no shoes), but it was Zayn. "Oh, I'm so glad you're okay," Louis sighed, going over and giving the taller boy a long hug. "I'm so sorry," he continued once he pulled out, "I don't know what happened - I just -"

"It's okay," Zayn promised him, "But...there's something I need to ask you."

"Anything."

"I normally don't remember what I do as a wolf," Zayn began, sitting down and Louis sitting across from him, "And I don't remember much, but, when I first got out of my cage, I tried to attack you. I remember going over, and...I'm so sorry Lou, but I was going to - bite you, but then there was something keeping me away. It was like a force field or something, I don't know, but I couldn't even touch you. So I left and I don't remember anything after that."

Louis wasn't even taking it in. "You normally remember nothing."

"That's what I'm saying," Zayn replied, "I shouldn't remember that. But I do. Everything that had to do with you, I remember. So why? And why couldn't I - kill you? Shit, that sounds so bad saying it."

"It's my fault, not yours," Louis promised. "But...I woke up with some weird glow thing around me? And then it just vanished before you came in? I don't know what it was."

"I think we need the book," Zayn sighed. "This is getting weird."

"Oh, I promise, it's about to get weirder."

The two both looked up to see Liam, carrying some other blond boy who didn't look conscious and someone else was following him. "Li, what is this?" Zayn asked, getting up off the couch. 

Liam came in and laid down the blond boy on the couch. He looked ridiculously average, so Louis turned his head away and saw - "Harry?"

"Louis?"

"You know each other?" Liam cried incredulously. "Seriously?"

Zayn said something and Harry entered the room, but Louis wasn't listening. Harry couldn't be here. Harry was on the wall. Louis didn't get to see people that were on the wall again. It didn't work that way. It just didn't.

"You were right," Harry said, and Louis locked eyes with him, unable to do anything else. "This is complicated."


	4. Cliches

***Note = I'm finally back! So sorry for the long wait on this, I hope everyone enjoys it :) Thanks for all the lovely comments as well xxx**

"Right," Louis said finally, allowing his eyes to leave Harry's and instead looking at Liam. "Why are they here?"

Liam didn't answer right away, which Louis took as a bad sign. In the corner of the room, silent and observant, Zayn was taking out the book and reading, probably to find out about Louis. As much as that should have concerned him, he only wanted to know why Harry was here. 

"Li," Zayn said firmly, and Liam seemed to shake out of his daze. 

"Well," he finally said, "The blond one - Niall - I bit him."

Louis' eyes shot up. "Like, last night? During the new year?"

"No," Liam said quietly, "Before that. He changed last night, so I was able to tell where he was. I remember biting him, too, and...damn, you know, I didn't think I had actually killed him..."

"Okay," Zayn said. "That's okay. He'll be okay. But why is, um, the other one here?"

"Harry," Harry and Louis both said at the same time, which caused Zayn to give Louis a curious look. 

"Okay, whatever. Why is Harry here?"

Liam gave an even longer pause, before Harry jumped in, "Last night I - I was out, and then something bit me, and then Liam showed up with a set of fangs or something, so I ran back to Niall's house, and then Niall was..."

"A vampire," Liam sighed. "Niall was a vampire."

Harry swallowed roughly before continuing, "A...vampire. Yeah. Yeah, okay. And then he tried to...bite me, I think, so I hit him with a frying pan. Then Liam showed up again. Now we're here."

Resisting the urge to break something, Louis did notice the healing wound on Harry's neck. "That looks like Perrie's work," Louis said, "But it wasn't deep enough, right?"

"He's fine," Liam assured them. "He's not turning."

"Turning into what? A - A vampire?" Harry was shaking his head, his back against the wall. "You know, maybe this was a bad idea that I came here."

"I told you it was complicated," Liam scoffed. "But no. Perrie's a succubus. She charms people into liking her and then she bites them and basically drinks their soul. That's why you didn't fight it."

"My soul?" Harry said, and he moved his mouth like he wanted to say something, but Louis knew he didn't know what to even think. 

"Now," Liam said, "What happened to you?"

Louis and Zayn exchanged another look, and Louis debated even telling Liam what had happened; there was already far too much drama for the whole year. But Louis knew he couldn't keep it a secret, so he said, "I don't really know. I was going to lock the cages - but then there was a sharp pain, and I blacked out, and when I woke up I had this glow around me. And Zayn - Zayn remembers not being able to harm me. He never remembers anything."

"I figured as much," Liam agreed, "Because I do remember what happens to me - and I know I couldn't harm you either. Trust me, I tried."

"So what?" Harry said suddenly, and Louis turned back to him. He'd almost forgotten the other boy was there. "You're a vampire. You've got some glow thing. And what are you?" He pointed at Zayn last. 

"Werewolf," Zayn said calmly. 

"Oh, yeah," Harry sighed, "Werewolf. Sure. That makes sense."

"Harry?"

Four heads whipped around to see Niall, sitting up on the couch, one hand on his head. "Oh god," Louis groaned. "So you mentioned the word complicated earlier?"

**********

"What is that, ten screams?"

"Eleven," Louis countered as he sat on the couch next to Zayn. Harry sat on the ground across from them, his eyes on the floor and his forehead creased, clearly thinking over everything they'd told him. An hour had gone by since Niall had woken up, and Liam had taken him into a seperate room so he could tell him what had happened. Louis and Zayn had been tasked with telling Harry everything, because he already knew too much and he honestly had the right to know, and now that they'd explained, Zayn was flicking through the book to find out what he could about Louis' new ability (that he couldn't control).

And all the while, they were counting the number of times the new Irish vampire had screamed.

Louis couldn't blame him, though. It wasn't fair to any of them to have their lives stripped to this, and finding out what you were, that you were different, was the most frightening thing this universe could do to somebody. Well, probably not. Actually, one of the most terrifying things that had happened to Louis was having Harry back. He'd wrote done the end date on the wall. He'd ended that human relationship. And now? This had never happened and Louis didn't know what to do.

"Found anything yet?" Louis asked Zayn nervously, but Zayn just shook his head and kept flipping wrinkled pages. Whatever was happening to Louis was pretty terrifying, too. 

"Okay," Harry suddenly said, and Louis found all his attention snapping to the younger boy. "You're immortal. You're a werewolf. Liam's a vampire. Liam bit Niall, killed him by accident, and now Niall's a vampire. And what, you change every new year?"

Louis and Zayn exchanged the trillionth look that day. "Yeah," Zayn said. "Some supernaturals also change on the full moon, like me. This new year was a full moon and a new year."

Harry nodded again. "Fuck," he said. "And I thought I had problems."

"So, what? You're okay with this?" Louis asked. He still wasn't. 

"I don't know," Harry said, shrugging, "Probably not. But I can't disprove it now, can I?"

"Good point," Louis agreed. "Very good point."

"Is that why you're still alive?" Louis brought his attention back to Harry again when he heard his words. "When you saved me from the car? Would you have died otherwise?"

"Yeah."

"Well, shit," Harry said, his eyes meeting Louis'. "I don't think I've thanked you properly, then."

"Don't worry about it. I was tired of listening to the carolers sing Silent Night, anyway." Louis didn't move his eyes, and Harry didn't reply, but they both understood. 

The door to the room Liam and Niall were in creaked open and the two emerged finally. Liam, seemingly exhausted, collapsed on the couch between Louis and Zayn, rubbing his eyes, while Niall sat on the floor next to Harry, his eyes tinged red. The two newcomers muttered amongst themselves, and Louis didn't have the heart to eavesdrop, so he turned his attention to Liam instead. "Is it all okay?" he asked. 

"I guess so," Liam replied, raising his head. "He's not used to it. I mean, neither am I. But. I think he'll be okay."

"Are you okay?"

There was a long pause. "I don't know. I can't believe I turned him. Without even knowing. I turned him, and took away his life. This is his life now. He didn't even have a choice."

"And neither did you," Louis said immediately, placing a hand on his friend's shoulder. "You didn't choose to be a vampire, either, but you have to feed on someone living. Neither of you had a choice."

"What if there are more? That I've changed, without knowing."

"You would've sensed them."

"Yeah, but-"

"Liam. He's got you, and he's got Harry. He's even got me and Zayn. That's more than you ever had when you were first turned, and you worked out just fine, didn't you?"

"Lou's right," Zayn interrrupted quietly, but sternly, "But. I think I've found something."

Zayn's eyes were focused on one specific page of the book, and as he opened his mouth to read it, Louis felt his heart flutter and anxiety spread through him. What if he wasn't immortal anymore? What if he was something else? What if he was something else...bad? Not all supernaturals could be controlled, and Louis did not want to be one of them. "Long story short," Zayn said, glancing upwards, "It says you're a witch."

Well. He hadn't been expecting that. "What?" 

"A witch," Zayn repeated. Louis sensed Liam's, Harry's, and even Niall's mouths gaping at him but he was only focused on Zayn. "Apparently, some witches are immortal. And sometimes a witch's power doesn't manifest until they reach a certain age. So it must have happened when you turned 300."

"The day I saved Harry," Louis muttered, to which Harry's eyes shot up at him in surprise - though, to be fair, Harry was probably more surprised at how old Louis actually was. "So. Wait. What does this mean, exactly? I've got witch powers but they waited 300 years to show up?"

"Yeah," Zayn said, shaking his head. "I guess? There's not much written here...witches hide themselves extremely well, so nobody really knows much for sure...but the book does say they can be extremely powerful and they're even hunted for their power."

Louis scoffed. "I don't have extreme power."

"I beg to differ," Liam said. "You made a...shield, of some kind, that neither Zayn or I could get through. Without trying. And you must've managed to make it go away."

"Yeah...well. That's one problem solved, I guess...?" It wasn't the worst case scenario. And actually, Louis was kind of relieved. Now he wasn't just randomly immortal. He was immortal with an actual reason why. Sure, the book could be wrong, but it had never been wrong before. 

"We've just got one more," Liam said. Louis followed his gaze to find he was talking about Harry. Well, who else would he be talking about? "I suppose we should make sure you get home."

"What about Niall?" Harry asked immediately, his expression even. 

Liam sighed and shifted his gaze to the blond boy, who still looked scared. "He's..."

"I don't want to be alone," Niall interrupted. "I can't. I don't want to hurt anyone."

"You can stay at my place," Liam decided. "And Harry? I suppose you're not going to want to go anywhere. But I don't think it's safe for you to stay with us, for the time being."

"You're right, I don't want to 'go anywhere,'" Harry said evenly, "But before you decide anything...there's something you should know."

"Oh god, what is it now?" Louis sighed. The problems just never ended. 

"There's this gang. It's called Deathrow, and they're all over London," Harry said, and Niall's head snapped to look at him. "Niall and I, we kind of owe them a lot of money. Both of our families owe it, but we took the blame so they went free, so to speak. But on the night of the new year, one of their members found me and she told me Niall had a week to live, and I had a week more."

"You're just telling me this now?" Niall cried, his mouth moving but no sound coming out. Louis felt a pang of sympathy for him; honestly, he didn't think he himself would've been able to handle as much information as he had in the past 24 hours. 

"I came to tell you, but you were...changed," Harry explained. "So. I mean, I guess Niall has nothing to worry about now. But I do."

"Stay at my apartment," Louis suddenly blurted, but as soon as the words were voiced, he didn't know why he'd said them. "I mean. Deathrow, or whatever, won't know where you are...you can see Niall all the time...and I promise I won't kill you."

"Okay," Harry agreed. "But if Deathrow comes knocking..."

"I have witch powers now!" Louis exclaimed, and the dramaticness of the statement even pulled a giggle from everyone else. 

"It's decided, then," Zayn said. "We'll meet at Li's place whenever we can, right?"

"Right," Louis said, standing. "C'mon, Harry. We've got to go into hiding."

**********

His breathing was even, his thoughts were clear, his muscles were relaxed but...he felt nothing. 

"I don't see anything."

Louis cracked one eye open. "Are you sure?"

"Very sure. I don't think this is working." 

Groaning, Louis collapsed backwards onto the bed, staring at the bumpy ceiling. "What else am I supposed to do, Harry?" 

Harry moved over and sat down next to Louis. "I don't know. I'm human, remember?"

"I haven't forgotten. I just. I want to be able to do this properly." The two - well, Louis, mostly - had been trying to use his new witch powers for a solid week. So far, nothing had shown up. For the entire week, as well, Liam had been teaching Niall how to control his 'urges' and how to turn on command. That pair had shown significantly higher progress - i.e, Niall was almost at Liam's level, and Louis had gotten nowhere. 

"Maybe we're going at this all wrong," Harry said after a while, shocking Louis out of counting the dots on the ceiling. "Last time you switched on a shield because you were being attacked, right? And then you switched out of it by being calm?"

"Yeah," Louis replied, sitting up suddenly. "I get what you're saying."

"So you just need some emotion," Harry finished.

"That's horribly cliche. But I like the way you think." Exhaling shortly, Louis got up and cracked his knuckles. "Let's get started. You know, you're pretty smart for a human."

Harry's eyebrows furrowed. "Thanks? I think?"

"You're welcome, padawan," Louis laughed, and he even got a smile out of Harry, which made it all worth it. Living with Harry was a nice change from being alone and sad all the time. Louis had even scratched out the date by Harry's name on the wall of pictures, so they hadn't 'said goodbye' yet. Life was actually starting to look okay, and that was a weird thought to think about. 

Louis didn't want Harry to go. 


	5. Ties That Bind

Louis couldn't wait for Harry to get the hell out. 

He wasn't serious, but. Since Harry had figured out that Louis needed emotion, not no emotion, the younger boy had actually attacked Louis seventeen times, three times while he was sleeping. Sleeping! Suffice to say, neither of them had any dignity left. But at random times, a knife would be flying at Louis' head, or a bookshelf would fall on top of him. Once Harry had just tackled him in the middle of the room. Most times, Louis' reflexes kicked in and he avoided the murder attempt, so he just encouraged Harry to try again. 

At least Harry wasn't so afraid anymore. When he'd first started to live with Louis, he'd been almost scared of the older boy, and that made Louis really sad. It upset him to know that someone had been pushed to that point where they could be scared of him. Well, maybe it was because he wasn't actually human. But still. No, now he'd got the nerve to try and kill Louis even though it seemed obvious that his witch powers were never going to come back.

Except then it did work. 

He was getting himself a glass of water, very innocently he'd like to add, when suddenly he heard the noise slicing through the air. He knew, this time, that he couldn't dodge the object - another knife? - and in a split second, he was probably going to die again. 

But then he didn't. 

A sudden cold feeling rushed through Louis and then went away, as quick as a breath. There was a clatter, and Louis whirled around to see Harry standing behind him, his mouth wide open in shock. The knife lay on the floor, just to the side of Louis. "What?" Louis asked. "Did you miss?" 

"No," Harry replied. "I didn't?"

Louis just blinked, not comprehending. "I didn't die, so..."

"Look down."

Louis raised an eyebrow, but he did, and dropped the glass of water into the sink in the process. The bright glow was back; but this time, it seemed even brighter, more powerful, and Louis could actually feel it around him. It felt cold, but it felt good, at the same time. It felt strong. "Do it again," Louis said, trying to hide just how excited he was. Harry did slowly, unable to take his eyes off Louis, but he picked up the knife and then moved to stab Louis. His arm froze as soon as the knife point touched the edge of the glow - or, the shield. 

"I can't," Harry said, just as excited. "I can't! You did it!"

"Well, fuck," Louis said, and then cried out triumphantly. "C'mere!" He wrapped his arms around Harry, who seemed shocked, but then he welcomed the hug. Louis hadn't hugged anyone in a long time and it felt nice, nicer than he remembered. So nice, in fact, that during the embrace his shield went away, the cold feeling disappearing as his thoughts calmed down. 

Finally, the two let go. "Thanks," Louis said. "All this paid off, then."

"Yeah," Harry laughed. "I do my best."

**********

"I threw the knife like this-," Harry paused his story to imitate the flick of the wrist he used to throw the knife, "-and then it just bounced right off him!"

"No way," Niall whispered. "That's amazing. Oh! Did I tell you? I've got fangs! See?" He then proceeded to show Harry how he could call his fangs out whenever he wanted. 

"They're children, I swear," Louis whispered to Zayn, but he meant it in the best way, honest. "Nothing from Deathrow? Niall's week is up."

Zayn shrugged. "Li said nothing. Who really knows with gangs. I was in one once, did I ever tell you?"

"No, Mr. Malik. You did not tell me. I'll have to remember to ask you 'bout that."

"The girl's are coming over," Liam said as he walked into the room, interrupting them and chuckling briefly at Niall and Harry. 

"Haven't seen them in...well, since this has happened," Zayn realized. 

"Yeah, what've they been doing anyway?" Louis laughed, "We've got far more adventurous stories, I bet."

"Somehow, I don't think so."

Louis turned, only to see Perrie, Eleanor and Danielle, looking as lively - or, as un-lively - as ever. Perrie entered the room with her usual confidence, while Eleanor and Danielle took their time, but they still seemed to flow as one seamless unit, if that made sense. The three went everywhere together. "And who's this?" Perrie continued, standing next to Louis. 

"The blond one's Niall. Liam bit him." Liam sent him a death glare so Louis amended, "By accident! And I think you know Harry."

"Hi?" Harry said quietly, clearly remembering Perrie. 

"I bit you." Louis almost choked on air at Perrie's response. At least she was forward, right? "You didn't die, right?"

"No."

"Good. Well, looks like you're still human. And the bite's healed. You're fine." She turned to Niall after that, leaving Harry looking slightly confused and slightly afraid. "Liam...at least tell me you've taught him everything?"

"Yeah," Liam sighed. "Didn't mean to."

Perrie's expression softened slightly. "I know you didn't. Well, he'll be fine too."

"Yes, Pez, they're both fine," Zayn said, coming up to her and laughing. "Now sit. Liam has tea."

"I only drink coffee."

"Liam has strong tea, then."

Finally Zayn managed to get Perrie sitting and Eleanor and Danielle managed to make their introductions. Harry and Niall looked dumbfounded, Harry more so, but Liam got the tea out and everyone sat. The room was crowded, but nobody seemed to mind. Perrie even seemed to like the tea. 

"So where've you been?" Zayn asked. 

"My parent's came home," Eleanor began, shaking her head. "They don't know about any of this, and when I made a premonition and forgot that they didn't know...it was hard to explain away."

"Believe it or not," Danielle said, shaking her head and laughing, "I got summoned!"

"No way," Louis said immediately, leaning back in his chair. "That never happens anymore. Who can even do that?"

"Some teenage girls in their basement summoned me and made me terrorize this other teenage girl," Danielle said, her expression just as miffed as everyone else's. "It's never happened but. Then I had to get home from Spain."

"Sorry for asking," Niall suddenly spoke up, his eyes full of wonder, "But...um...what kind of supernatural are you all?"

"I forgot you didn't know," Eleanor laughed. "Perrie's a succubus, I'm a telepath, and Danielle is a ghost."

"Ghost?" Niall and Harry repeated at the same time, causing everyone else to laugh quietly. 

"Yes, I'm a ghost," Danielle replied after she caught her breath. "I died ten years ago and for some reason, I'm still around. Don't ask me, I'm just as confused. And yes, I can be summoned by people, Eleanor can sometimes predict the future, and Perrie eats people's souls."

"Your's was tasty," Perrie put in, looking at Harry. Harry just shrugged and didn't make eye contact, which made Louis have to stifle another laugh. 

"And what happened to you?" Danielle asked. 

The five boys all shared a long look, but Harry nodded to Louis to explain, so he did. He told them about how he couldn't lock the cages, and then discovering he was a witch. Liam jumped in to explain about finding Niall and Harry, and Zayn helped by putting in small details that they'd forgotten. Niall even pitched in to explain about Deathrow.

"You know what," Perrie said after taking a long sip of tea, even though she clearly hated it, "I think you were right. You definitely had a better time."

"I can hear it," Eleanor suddenly said, her head shooting up. "Someone's coming. Someone bad. Someone who is going to change everything." Louis sucked in a breath as the telepath's eyes changed momentarily to red and then back to their original colour. 

"That was a premonition," Louis said to Niall and Harry, who looked stunned. "And El's always right."

Five seconds later, someone knocked on the door, loudly and forcefully. The eight of them sat in silence for a second, before Zayn said, "I'll just go open it. See who it is, yeah?"

No one argued, so slowly, he went to the door and opened it just a crack. A female voice floated in, saying, "Hello, my name is Jesy Nelson. I'd like to talk to you."

Harry stiffened and then jumped to his feet, and only then did Louis remember - Jesy Nelson, member of Deathrow, who was going to kill Harry in a week. "Hide," Louis hissed. Nobody was going to die; not here, not now, and never Harry. "Go!" Sharing only a glance, Harry and Niall jumped up, but there was nowhere for them to run to. Louis could hear Zayn stalling Jesy at the door, but that would only take so long before she knew something was up. Without knowing what else to do, Louis shoved Liam's bookshelf aside and opened the hidden door, letting Niall and Harry run inside. 

Briefly, before he shut the door, Louis caught sight of Liam's machine that would reverse supernaturals back to human form. It still stood there, a dark and beckoning coffin. He really hoped that the two wouldn't go in it; though he'd talk to Liam after. It needed to be destroyed. 

"Can I come in?" Louis heard Jesy ask, and Zayn finally said "sure," so Louis went back onto the couch and tried to make it look like nothing was wrong. Zayn came back first, followed by Jesy, and honestly it was all Louis could do to stop shaking. He needed to learn some memory spell or something, make Deathrow forget all about Harry. But that wouldn't happen. 

Jesy was shorter than he expected, but she carried herself with an intimidating amount of confidence. She sat on the couch that Harry and Niall and vacated, and then just cast her eyes over all six of the people remaining. "I suppose I'll get right to it," she sighed after a while. "My name is Jesy Nelson. I work for an organization called Against, an organization dedicated to helping supernaturals."

You would've been able to hear a pin drop in the silence that followed. This was not what Louis was expecting, not in the slightest. "Prove it," Perrie said finally, the only one of them able to talk. 

"Fine," Jesy said, holding up her hand and pushing out her fingers. Claws, like Zayn's, replaced her fingernails. 

"You're a werewolf," Zayn said quietly.

"I am," she replied, her claws sliding back. "Does that prove it?"

"What do you want?" Louis asked, just as quietly. "More importantly - how did you know we were here?"

"Against has several tracking devices," she said, shrugging. "We're able to monitor where supernaturals are. And with such a big group here, at one time? We couldn't resist. Oh, and if the vampire could come out from the back room? That'd be great."

Louis and Liam exchanged an uneasy look. Louis was at least happy that she didn't seem to know Harry was here; his humanity had saved him this time. "How do you track us?" Louis just asked, hoping she'd forget that Niall wasn't here. 

She rolled her eyes, but Louis didn't move. "Supernaturals leave a trace," she explained hurridly. "We can detect it. Which brings me to my point; we want all of you to come to Against."

"Why?"

"Because we help supernaturals."

"How?"

Jesy leaned forwards, staring at Louis square in the eyes, but he wasn't intimidated by her. "We want to find a way to turn them back to human and free them from this curse. And we're close."

Louis wanted to make it appear like he wasn't fazed by her remarks, but he was, and he couldn't hide it. He didn't dare look at Liam. "You can't change a supernatural back," Zayn said for him. "We'd die."

"So everyone thought. I told you. We're close."

"Explain how you're doing it." Louis cringed when he heard Liam jump in, and then Perrie started backing him. Everything about this was wrong. Deathrow had to somehow be tied to Against, and any gang that wanted Harry dead wasn't worth Louis' time.

"Come with us and you'll see," Jesy smirked. "But I promise you; you'll get to be human. You will live. You will be free."

"Is that all you have to say?" Louis said coldly after regaining his composure. "Because I think you'd better leave."

Jesy just sighed. "Fine. But if you change your mind - here." From her pocket, she drew seven small cards and put them on the table in front of her. "The old warehouse, the one that suffered fire damage? That's where we are. Give the guards these, tell them I sent you." She stood up, her eyes going over everyone in the room. "I hope you change your mind. Oh, and somebody fill the vampire in." Without another word, she turned and left, leaving the door open behind her. 

"That was bullshit," Eleanor said as soon as Zayn had closed the door again. "Seriously!" 

"Couldn't agree more," Louis muttered, going over and moving the bookshelf so Harry and Niall could come back out. "Nobody's thinking of seriously joining, right?"

Everyone except Liam agreed with him. 

"She knew I was there!" Niall said, going over and sitting next to Liam this time, Harry going next to Louis. "Do you think she knows - that it's me?"

"Probably not," Danielle replied. "She just seemed to know our supernatural type."

"Never even seen her before," Zayn sighed. "And I'm a werewolf! I know most of the werewolves!"

"Well," Louis sighed, "she's gone. And Harry's alive. And we're okay." But somehow he knew that things were going to get way more complicated than that.

**********

The girl's left shortly after that, with the happy mood of the afternoon gone. Niall and Liam had been keeping to themselves mostly, leaving Zayn, Louis, and Harry to try and figure out what to do. "I can't believe Deathrow is actually a supernatural organization! Why do they care so much about me then?" Harry kept saying. 

"Yeah," Zayn repeated again and again, "But why was she so fixed on recruiting people? Why do they need recruits?"

Louis didn't have the answers for either or them, but he did know what he had to do. Liam was going to do something dramatic, he knew, and Niall would probably go with him. Louis knew what he could do to stop him; but he'd been trying to talk himself out of it all afternoon. Now, he knew he couldn't. 

"I'll be right back," Louis said, standing, and pushing Liam's bookshelf to the side, stepping through the door before Liam could stop him. 

"Where are you going?" Liam called behind him, but Louis didn't stop. He forced himself to go up to Liam's machine, the huge metal coffin, and he placed both his hands on the side and he closed his eyes, forcing all of his confusion, anger, and sadness to fill himself. He just needed to disable the machine. Maybe he was still pretty new at magic, but he knew he didn't need much skill for this. He just thought 'disable the machine' again and again, and finally, the cold feeling swept over him and he felt a hundred times more relaxed as the feeling passed through his hands and into the machine. 

"Stop!" Liam yelled, and suddenly he tackled Louis to the ground, breaking his concentration, but it was enough. The machine didn't look any different, but Louis just knew that he had succeeded. "What are you doing?"

Louis had managed to catch himself before his face hit the floor, and he pushed Liam off of him, causing the vampire to roll onto the ground. "I'm sorry, Liam," Louis said quietly, "But I had to. You were going to use it."

"Yeah, I was!" Liam yelled, standing quickly. "I was, and it was going to work! I can't - you knew how much this meant to me!"

"I'm sorry."

Liam just shook his head and stormed out of the room, Louis following after a few short seconds. Liam might never forgive him, and that hurt, but Louis hoped he did the right thing. 

He took one last look at the evil machine before closing the door. No one was going to be using it any time soon.


End file.
